The Migliorisi Family are friends of my family that need our prayers right now. And this article reminds us of ways we can pray for them and for all people. Prayer is not a last ditch effort but a lifetime of love for our Lord!

Prayer should be our first response, not the last resort.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalms 145:18

Our friends are hurting, and with sincere hearts, we say we will pray yet do we really know what to pray? We stand at the threshold of heaven and earth and sometimes struggle to know just what to pray. Our Heavenly Father knows our hearts, and we don’t need eloquent words to speak with Him, but beauty is revealed in the intimacy of bringing forward our earnest, specific cries on behalf of those hurting (Psalm 18:6). Below are a few tangible examples of prayers you can speak on behalf of the Migliorisi family members and those that will be taking care of Avery. Start here and continue to expand and listen for new needs as this journey…

You don’t know me, and I’m not usually in the habit of writing open letters, but this is a special occasion.

You’ve been the pastor of Alliance United Methodist Church for two Sundays now. Last Sunday you gave a sermon about the authority of Scripture. About halfway through the sermon, you said some things that hurt a lot of people very deeply. Towards the end, you mentioned that you don’t care about hurting people’s feelings (which doesn’t strike me as very pastoral, but that’s another letter).

Long story short, my parents are leaving Alliance.

Here are some things you should know: we’ve been members for 13 years, since I was ten years old. My brother and I were confirmed there; I preached for the first time there; until recently, I thought I would get married there.